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Last week the interns at the admission office went to a professional development conference with admission officers from nine other Southern California colleges and universities. The keynote speaker was Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). He was a fabulous speaker and everyone saw that through his speech. It was apparent that regardless of what he said, he had that “umph” that propelled what he was saying, making it matter. (*One of the interns thinks he will run for political office in the next couple of years. I would not be surprised*). The whole time he was speaking, I was just thinking “what makes this man so convincing and easy to listen to? How does he captivate his audience so well?” This is what I noticed.

I have had some experience public speaking, but none of it has been formally taught. My high school extracurriculars involved public speaking to a certain extent, through student government elections and classes, improv practices and shows, and various other events and clubs. I had many friends who were involved clubs and participated in organizations that formally taught students how to speak like Model UN or Mock Trial. But all of what I learned, came from experience, observation, or in passing conversations. Currently, my most “public speaking” activity is my job as a campus tour guide. It is a mix of a script I formulated through watching other guides tour, the fact sheet given to every guide, and an improv of items, anecdotes, or fun facts I think of. The question and small talk aspect of the job definitely works my improvisation and conversational skills, while the actual tour tests my physical agility, heat tolerance, active recall, and how well I can laugh at my own jokes till it gets awkward.

Reflecting on Superintendent Carvalho’s Speech and Q&A

Back to the original talk that inspired this post; Superintendent Carvalho demonstrasted a couple of really great techniques I think anyone could pick up to become a better public speaker. Here are seven that I noticed:

One: Superintendent Carvalho was great at making eye contact with everyone in the audience. You knew when he was looking at you, but he also actively surveyed and scanned the crowd as he was speaking. He created a much more intimate talk, making it seem like what he was saying was incredibly important for you, specifically, to listen to and to know.

Two: He paused frequently while speaking. To build suspense, pause for effect, or just to catch up his thoughts with his words, his pauses were spot on. It also gave the audience time to catch up and process what he was saying and follow along on his fast-paced talk.

Three: Ethos. He began his speech with a story of how he grew up outside of the US and his parents immigrated here. He elaborated on the challenges that came with growing up in a school system that operated in a language that wasn’t his or his parents’ first language. As a superintendent of a school district that is almost 3/4 Hispanic/ Latino (usnews.com), beginning with a personal anecdote creates a rapport and lays a foundation of understanding. His personal story creates an image of someone who understands schoolings in LAUSD better than many others, as well as someone that people can sympathize with and be empowered by.

Four: He continuously brought his topic back to the story/ central theme of his speech. Whether he was going off on stories or answering questions, he would always return to his initial message. This approach tied his speech together. Honestly, I no longer recall what it was, just that there was a singular phrase he repeated frequently after a longer anecdote or after answering a question.

Five: He revealed to the audience an impressive statistic about filled teacher positions in LAUSD, but described it as a “secret.” Superintendent Carvalho said this information was not yet public, but he told everyone in the room. This way of offering a “secret” to your audience can create greater rapport and more trust, as well as making your audience feel like they are apart of the “in” group, who know something others don’t. It makes audience members feel special, like the speaker likes them enough to tell them a secret.

Six: This one is a little more obscure and much less to do with his speech and more just a small observation. During his speech, his headshot was projected behind him on a screen. The photo was taken a tiny bit below eye level, making you feel equal to him, but also a tiny bit like he was a figure to be respected. Again conveying ethos and creating a feeling of trust with the audience. He smiled only slightly in the photo, but his eyes were bright, conveying friendliness, liveliness, and energy.

Seven: Superintendent Carvalho answered all questions with a list. He started by acknowledging the validity of the question, agreeing with the point that was made, and adding something else (how this isn’t a unique issue to LAUSD, how he understands it from a specific perspective, etc). He then explained “but there are three things we/you/I/people can do…” and listed three specifics. He repeated this pattern for each question. (He did answer many questions, not directly, and extended some answer longer than they had to be.)

Reflecting on My Own Tours and Public Speaking, Summer 2024

This summer, when I have been leading 1-2 tours every day, I have noticed a couple of things about my speaking.

One: I have a tendency to use many filler words, especially “um.” I am sure it is a product of watching many informal online videos where the people speaking aren’t using a script and their natural tendency is to use filler words. Conversations with friends who also use a high frequency of filler words influence my speech patterns. Once I noticed this tendency, I began slowing down my speech in my tours, and thinking more thoroughly through what I am saying next.

Two: When I talk quickly, I stumble over words and my annunciation can be poor. We need to convey a large amount of information at some stops on our tour. Many factors contribute to how fast we need to speak or where bits of information is conveyed. One factor is the number of guides touring at the same time. if they are too close, you need to speed up or slow down to avoid getting in their way. Another factor, I imagine, is that my tou group does not want to hear me talk for 5-7 minutes straight. I am sure it is less time than that and they also did sign up to be here and receive this information but sometimes it is hard to be talking for that long without feeling like the audience is growing bored.

Three: We have a great deal of information we are supposed to convey on our tours. Sometimes I have a nagging feeling I forgot a piece of information at a specific spot, but can’t remember what it was. It is usually on the tip of my tongue, and I remember less than 10 seconds later. So I frequently say “what else was I going to say…” as a space filler (I don’t like the impression it project).

This week on my tours, I am trying to reduce the number of times I say “um,” slowing down the pace of my speech. I am also thinking though what I want to say next before finishing my previous point. This definitely takes practice, and more brain power than just running on whatever comes out. But I hope it makes my tours better and will be helpful in the future.